Children’s Picture Books and a YA Literary Fiction from One Of Australia’s Best

Marianne de Pierres is on of Australia’s premier authors: she’s had science fiction, young adult sci fi, and a wonderful series of crime books published. I’m proud to say that she’s also been my friend for years and when Marianne asked me to help her publish her children’s books I was delighted to assist.

IngramSpark is particularly useful for children’s books as it allows you to publish them in paperback, hardcover and in digital with formats up to 28cm square. The pages are glossy and the colours are vibrant and intense, and the result is as good as anything you’ll find traditionally published.

After I helped Marianne to release her children’s books ‘Joon and the Unicorn’ and ‘Serious Sas and Messy Magda’, she asked me to assist with her new YA Literary novel, ‘The Season of Impossible Dreams’ Watch for this fabulous new YA novel to be released at the end of August 2026

Hilarious Military Memoir

‘Misadvantures with Coco-Oscar’ is a cracking good tale of a young conscript’s misadventures during twelve months in the Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960. Bram tells his story with a hilariously dry humorous take on the foibles of the armed forces and this superbly written memoir is definitely one for all fans of military history.

Richard chose to publish exclusively on Draft2Digital, choosing to go the simpler publishing route that still gave ‘Misadventures’ full distribution to all outlets, and an easy way for him to order copies for himself to take to talks at libraries and RSL clubs.

Middle Grade Adventures in English and Arabic

Judy’s ‘Speed’ middle-grade books are delightful action-packed stories based in the Arab Peninsula, and translated into Arabic by Eman Ablooshi. Judy is already skilled at self-publishing, but she needed some assistance from me to ensure that the Arabic books had all the metadata correct and that the final versions were read right-to-left in Arabic. She also asked me to add her publisher’s logo to the covers, and to make sure that they fitted IngramSpark’s cover format requirements. I was as excited as Judy to receive the final version of ‘Barq’ in Arabic – a wonderful addition to my shelf!

Help With Relationships

Lorren was another referral from the Queensland Writers Centre. She’s a professional psychologist based in Queensland, and published ‘Be With Me’ to guide her younger clients through big emotions. It’s beautifully illustrated by Julia Schigal, and Lorren asked me to adapt it for IngramSpark. Lorren had already arranged for the book to be printed by an offset printshop in Brisbane, but that doesn’t provide world-wide distribution. I adapted the book to IngramSpark’s requirements and arranged for paperbacks and hardcovers to be printed for Lorren and made available to all bookstores world-wide. Lorren made the choice to have the book available in print only, not as a digital book, and that was easy to achieve for her.

After releasing ‘Be With Me’, Lorren added ‘Who Ate The Chocolate Cake’, another fun children’s book about big emotions, and I was delighted to help her release the book in print.

Must-Read Lesbian Jewish Romcom

Hava’s romantic comedy is a must-read, hilariously navigating her main character’s Jewish heritage with her search for the perfect wife – while negotiating the grief of losing her mother. You’ll enjoy every moment of this romp as she travels the world with a list of the attributes she’s looking for in a life partner.

Hava originally chose the simpler Draft2Digital route for this book, then decided to go full-on professional and published it in a new edition on IngramSpark, which allowed her to tailor the fonts and interior style perfectly to her specifications. Her wife Roz is a hugely talented illustrator who designed this boisterous cover and both women were absolute delights to assist in their publishing journey.

This book is a print-only tribute to Mark’s father Geoffrey, written by his mother Beverley. Mark approached me to put his mother’s biography of his father into print, and I was delighted to help them.

The book is not available for sale on distribution platforms, only as a fund raiser for the Pentecostal Church that Geoffrey Holden was Australian Superintendent for.

It’s a loving tribute to the life of a man who worked tirelessly to support his community.

Bush Poetry Nature Picture Books

Troy is a bush poet who lives with his lovely wife Kylie on a farm called ‘Elderslie’ near Lismore. He’s written a total of five delightful children’s books about animals, nature, and farm life, all in charming poetry with illustrations provided by Kylie and designed using Canva.

These books are published in large format on IngramSpark, in both paperback and glossy laminated hardcover with thick, vibrant interior colour pages. Troy sent me a photo of himself holding the first copy of ‘A Day Out For Douglas’ when it arrived, and it’s been lovely to hear of his success with his stories.

Note that Troy used AI to illustrate his picture books. Click Here to view our policy on AI. 

Writer/Producer, Investor and Agent of Change

“I am delighted to share my experience working with Kylie Chan, whose expertise in digital publishing has been instrumental in bringing my novel, The Sentimental Blonde, to life. Kylie’s deep knowledge, coupled with her commitment to excellence, has guided me through the intricate landscape of digital publishing with ease and confidence.

Kylie not only provided top-tier services but also imparted wisdom that has been pivotal in shaping the digital strategy for my Better Now Than Never series of books. Her advice is always practical, well-informed, and tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities presented by the evolving digital marketplace.

I am immensely grateful for her guidance and thrilled with the outcomes of our collaboration. Thank you, Kylie, for your fabulous wisdom and unwavering support.”

‘Capulet’ Historical Literary Series

Marcus Hogan is an accomplished screenwriter and Shakespearian scholar who went full IngramSpark professional with his ‘Capulet’ series. Set in Renaissance France and Italy, this six-book historical epic is a prequel to Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Marcus chose IngramSpark so that his vision could be brought to life on the page: each chapter heading in ‘Capulet’ uses unique fonts, and I crated a hardcover for him that has vibrant interior colours for some of the text.

Marcus also asked me to publish the first book in the series as an audiobook using the audiobook self-publishing platform InAudio, and the audiobook of ‘Fate’ is now available on all audiobook platforms.

Note that Marcus used AI to produce his book covers. Click here for our policy on AI content.